Updated 12:05

Sri Lanka's Criminal Investigation Department (CID) arrested two Tamil men at Colombo airport this week, as they returned from the Middle East to visit their families on holiday.

Kandasamy Karunananidhi, a 36 year old man from Kaluthavalai, Batticaloa and Thamodaram Baskaran, a 29 year old from Kokkaddicholai, Batticaloa were both arrested on arrival in Sri Lanka on the 2nd and 3rd of February respectively. They are currently being detained in the notorious fourth floor of the CID headquarters in Colombo.

Both men, who were working in the UAE and Qatar, had returned to the island in order to visit their wives and children. Tamil National Alliance MP P Ariyanenthiran said that both men had returned several times over the past without facing any difficulty.

“According to the parents, these two boys had briefly been in the LTTE, but they left the outfit long ago and were working in Dubai and Qatar,” Mr Ariyanenthiran told the Tamil Guardian.

“They have often visited their families from time to time without any problem in the past. But this time, they have been arrested and detained by the CID at the Fourth Floor.”

The parents of the men were summoned to the CID office in Colombo and told their sons would be released after questioning.

Commenting on the arrests, the MP for the Batticaloa district said Tamils on the island still faced intimidation from state security forces and warned against diaspora Tamils from returning.

"Despite the new government saying it is welcoming back diaspora Tamils, it is clear the situation is not yet conducive or safe to return,” he said.

See more of his comments in our post: 'There is no freedom for Tamils in Sri Lanka' says TNA MP (05 Feb 2015)